E-DRUG: esomeprazole - an incremental advance?
--------------------------------------------------------------
[Crossposted from DRUGINFO, the South African E-drug, with thanks. NN]
Hi all
Below is the unfolding story of AstraZeneca's new proton pump
inhibitor (PPI),
esomeprazole (sold as Nexium) - an incremental advance on the existing
molecules in
the class - and as a result patent protected. That's if you accept
that using one isomer
instead of the racemic mixture makes a totally new drug - head-to-head
trails have
shown it to be superior in 2 trials and not superior in 3 (see last
URL below for summary
of the data). Interwoven with this story is the attempt by the
innovator to stave off
generic competition to its original PPI (Prilosec/Losec in different
markets -
omeprazole; listed as an example of the class in the SA EDL for
hospital level/adult).
The first story is from today's FT site, the others from previous
editions showing how the
matter has evolved over the past 7 months (all available from
www.ft.com/healthcare).
For fun I did a google.com search wth the word "Nexium" - 4280 hits,
including the
usual DTCA-type hard-sell (free trial offer, scare story labelled "I
didn't know" -
http://www.purplepill.com/home.asp) and a press office (labelled "not
intended for US
journalists" - http://www.nexiumpressoffice.com/), a total confounder
(a computer firm
called Nexium, Inc), a site directed at US professionals only (a very
fancy Flash
presentation - http://www.nexium-us.com/moa/moa.asp), and perhaps the
most useful,
a summary of the trials evidence and registered data
(http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/drugs/dru665.html)
regards
Andy